The headmaster blinked, taken aback, then narrowed his eyes at them. “A demigod, huh? The theoretical power just high enough to be untouchable, but not quite so high as to risk offending the actual gods should they exist? How diplomatic.”

  The process of proving Dominic’s divine nature was as normal and standard as it had been so far.

  All Dominic could think of doing to prove to these mortals that he was indeed a demigod was magic, specifically a spell that paused time. Anything else would either be too complex for them to understand, too arcane to connect to a godly power, or too eldritch. Any one of them could drive an unprepared onlooker mad unless they had some resistance or awareness—like Delizio and the members of the new Dominic-Worshiping Cult.

  Why mess with what worked? Anyone who could slow down or completely pause time for everyone except specific individuals was no mortal, but a demigod, someone beyond the bounds of mortality.

  "Give me just one day, Respected Godliness," the headmaster started, looking at Dominic with a mix of reverence and fear. "I will gather all the professors you need, call them back to the academy from their tasks, or clear their schedules for however long you wish."

  "No, I'll pause the time," Dominic interrupted. "You don’t have to clear their schedules. I’ll finish everything before they even have their next task."

  "Yes... so, I'll just have to call them back and keep them ready to train your disciple?"

  "Exactly. Only the best teachers, you understand. I won't have him wasting his time with subpar substitutes."

  "Of-of course, Your Godliness. I will be sure to recall our very best professors. Would tomorrow be soon enough? It would feel like the beginning of a new semester for Mr. Young Disciple. I think that would work quite well, don’t you agree?"

  Once the timing details were arranged, Headmaster Ronish gave Calvin a good-natured pat and waved for him to follow. “Let’s get you settled so you can rest for the evening while we get everything together. You’re of course welcome to help yourself to any of the amenities we offer in the meantime as well.”

  The halls of the castle were as fancy as the entryway and stairs, which made Calvin wonder how they prevented their students from vandalizing or stealing any of it. Then again, maybe that's part of why they just didn't bother recruiting too many true commoner students. If he'd ever gotten in here any way except being sponsored by someone who could literally create gold from thin air, he'd have been swiping everything that wasn't locked down within the first three minutes.

  Oblivious to his new student's line of thought, the headmaster rambled on. "I understand you're after a more personalized specialist experience, so instead of putting you in the standard student dorms, we've set aside one of the guest rooms for your use. It's very similar to the ones everyone else uses, but is connected to the secondary halls instead of the student commons. I trust that's acceptable?"

  Calvin nodded absently. How long had it been since he even slept? He'd been restored to full health by Saintess—it felt like far too grand of a title for that sisterly figure—Hannah so often that he never really got tired during their time in the dungeon, only mostly-dead.

  "Here it is." The headmaster unlocked a door and pushed it open, handed Calvin the key, and motioned for him to enter. "All yours until your education is finished."

  Calvin stepped inside, and immediately felt overwhelmed. The castle's grandness was one thing, they'd been walking in, visiting... it was grand, but it was someone else's. He was an intruder.

  This room was... his? For the next year or however long it took for him to master the entire Starlight Academy curriculum.

  You could've fit the entire alleyway he slept inside it with room to spare. A single lamp could've sold for enough to feed his household—consisting of him and desperation—for half a year. So much. So much. All of it waiting, unused except when they had guests important enough to be worth the time to bring them up in here, but Calvin was supposed to be a nobody. He shouldn't have even known this room existed, let alone live in it.

  He turned around and stared at the headmaster, who smiled back cheerfully and waved. "Is there anything else you'll be needing, for your stay here? We'll be sure the food is stocked before your master does his..." he waved his hands to indicate the time-stop effect. "Do you have luggage you need brought up?"

  Calvin mutely shook his head.

  The headmaster snapped his fingers. "Of course, you wouldn't have a uniform yet either. I'll have a tailor sent for. I'm sure we can get something together on time. You'll be wanting some casual—"

  "You needn't go to any extra efforts regarding clothes," Dominic said with a laugh. He waved a hand and a matching set of robes to the headmaster's appeared in his hand, in Calvin's size.

  The headmaster stuttered and stumbled over himself as the sentence he was in the middle of and the shock at the conjuration fought for supremacy. "The student uniform is, ah, a little simpler than that," he finally said weakly. "No need for extravagance."

  "Of course there is! My dear disciple deserves only the best." He ruffled Calvin's hair.

  Calvin didn't let on how much he enjoyed the casual contact, how much it meant to have someone believe in him and care that much. For his own part, he couldn't care less what he wore, but if his master wanted him to fancy up for the occasion, who was he to argue?

  You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.

  Headmaster Ronish laughed, though it sounded a bit forced now, and clapped his hands again. "Well, on that note, I should be getting back. Lots of messages to send out before the morning. I trust you two can find your way about? Or would you rather I assign you a guide?"

  "We'll be fine." Dominic waved a hand to shoo the man away, and the headmaster scurried off. "Now, what do you say we find ourselves something to eat? It's been a while since I've been out to lunch."

  "Huh," Calvin gasped as he chewed at the food served in the Academy's cafeteria—a buffet, filled with the finest varieties the Nohl Kingdom had to offer.

  They were all dishes he didn't even know the name of. Hell, if not for his master remarking about what kind of meat they'd used or what techniques they'd used to make these dishes, he wouldn't have even realized they were made with meat.

  Either way, though, he had to admit that it was delicious.

  “I know, right? Surprisingly good for such a rustic planet.” Dominic grinned and pushed a bowl of seasoned greens over toward him. “Try these. They’re even better with melted cheese, but you have to get a feeling for the base flavor first to appreciate the change.”

  No matter which dish, or what it looked like, all of them were just the right texture—springy, or soft, firm, yet easy enough to chew. It fit, in a way he couldn't explain. And so enjoyed himself, shoveling through the food with ease. It was only after he had two full servings did he turn to his master and inquire about their plans for the day.

  "So, master, what are we gonna do for the rest of the day? Are we perhaps going to grind? Do someth—"

  "Breathe, Calvin." His master said, making Calvin blink owlishly. "Today, we are not going to do anything. We will simply sit in your dormitory room and sleep, or relax. Of course, unless you have some other plans."

  "Sleep? Relax? But..." Calvin trailed off, not sure what to say. Sure, he didn't have any other plans or ideas, and now that his master had said that, it did make sense—he would be 'grinding' and working hard in the Academy anyway, once the Professors and Headmaster were ready. Was there any reason for him to still 'grind' during this one day he had to relax?

  Yet, it felt wrong, to be so relaxed. Unusual. After all, for the past god—Dominic—knows how long, he'd been working his ass off in the dungeon, and he'd gotten somewhat used to it. Even when lounging around with his Relfow pack, playing games with Hannah, it had been training his mind strategically. He'd become a workaholic, to a certain extent. So, to just... not work, suddenly...

  But perhaps that's exactly why his master was suggesting they laze around and relax for a bit? Since he'd noticed Calvin's restless nature?

  “You’re not planning to use your free time to train more, are you?”

  “Of course not, Master. I wouldn’t dream of undermining your plan for the day.”

  Dominic smiled at him knowingly. “Even if that plan involves napping comfortably in a sunlit bedroom?”

  Calvin hesitated, but nodded to himself. Indeed. This didn't sound too bad. Worst case, he could just meditate for a while! With renewed determination, he said, "Sounds like a plan, master! But only after we’ve tried everything here."

  “Naturally. I wouldn’t dream of rushing a hungry disciple.” Dominic leaned back and popped a handful of berries into his mouth. “Take your time, enjoy it.”

  Calvin didn’t hesitate. He went and grabbed a third plate, piling it high with a whole new spectrum of exciting unknowns.

  The food was really good, alright? And he was a growing boy who worked super hard with a super strong body! It was only natural for him to need to eat more food—it wouldn't even be odd if he ate ten servings of this buffet!

  Hell, he completely planned to!

  Well.

  Perhaps it had been a tiny bit too optimistic of him, to think he could just suddenly switch to a completely peaceful, non twitchy, non workaholic mindset after he'd spent so long in the dungeon.

  His master, too, seemed to have realized that there was no way Calvin would be able to simply just sleep, so he hummed and asked, "Ooh. I know, wanna do something fun with me?"

  Calvin would have expected the demigod to offer to play more new board games with him—in his mind, that was the peak of entertainment, after all.

  So, when his master said, "I should show you a few Tee Vee shows", he could only tilt his head in confusion.

  Mister Disciple... got addicted surprisingly quick.

  ( ?°?°) .?.?

  Gabrielle's message made Dominic grin wryly. Well, he understood just why Calvin was practically glued to the screen—in this medieval era with practically no proper entertainment, an item of entertainment like this from a reasonably more advanced culture could be deadly. And that was not even mentioning how Calvin, even by the standards of this medieval world, could be considered 'uncultured', having never attended things such as plays or other high class noble entertainment.

  Thank goodness he'd not introduced Calvin to the more high tech VR style technology—even just a basic, old TV had him this addicted, so...

  And then, as soon as the episode ended, Calvin's head whipped towards Dominic. Before Dominic could nod and switch to the next episode, he asked, "Master, can you pause time, please?"

  Pause... time? Wait, does Mister Disciple want Mister Dominic to pause time so that he can watch TV shows and movies?

  (╭?_??)

  Honestly… It was an interesting show. Not a bad idea at all. I want to watch more too, just like Mister Disciple, Mister Dominic!

  (?????)

  Gabrielle’s support only increased Dominic’s wry grin. These kids, he swore.

  "Why do you want me to pause time, Calvin?" Dominic couldn't help but ask, even though he knew Gabrielle’s hypothesis was likely right.

  "You have a lot more shows like this, right, master? Tens? Maybe hundreds?"

  "Try billions."

  Calvin froze, his eyes widening. Dominic thought the sheer number would discourage the boy, but instead, it seemed to encourage him, spark life to a truly bright passion.

  "All of them. I want to watch every single one of them."

  Right. This was the boy who enjoyed the process of grinding a dungeon infinitely.

  Hm. Billions might take… too long?

  (?—?—)

  Well. I’m sure we can intersperse different genres to make sure the process doesn’t get tiring!

  It was only a few ten million shows later that Calvin finally get tired enough of the concept of shows as a whole—temporarily so, he claimed—and so they finally left the dormitory.